


It's Time to Relax

by MeganMoonlight



Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Holding Hands, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 09:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19082041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganMoonlight/pseuds/MeganMoonlight
Summary: Alan had been working far too much for the last week, so he decided to do what relaxes him most - visit the Grid.





	It's Time to Relax

Alan Bradley sighed quietly as he put down his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

For the last few days he was working on an update for a security program for Kevin’s new game, but the longer it took him to make it run smoothly, the more stressed out he became. Didn’t matter how much time he spent on equations and the code, for some reason his new program just didn’t work, and he had no idea why. 

More than once Lora had brought him coffee, Walter had helped him from time to time as well, and they both kept mentioning that maybe taking a break would help him, but Alan hated leaving things unfinished, especially when he had no idea how to solve what was bothering him. Additionally, the more he thought about deadlines for his other projects and upgrades for ENCOM’s system, the more pressure he felt. He knew that Kevin would postpone any deadline if Alan asked him, no questions asked, but Alan still hated the idea of not finishing his projects on time.

When for the sixth day in a row Alan stayed overtime, he should have expected that Lora would come for him. 

She walked up to him and snagged his floppy disks front the desk just when he was reaching for them.

“You really shouldn’t stay here this long, Alan,” she scolded him.

Alan just looked up at her, running his fingers through his hair briefly. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel a bit tired. “What time is it?” 

Lora sighed and put the glasses laying on the desk back on Alan’s nose. “You should have left the office five hours ago. Even Kevin starts to worry about you, and that is saying something.”

“I just wanted to finish the next piece of code for the new system upgrade first,” he answered, leaning back in his chair. “I promised Kevin I’d send him the first outline on Monday and…”

“You mean the upgrade he suggested you can work on in a few months, after you both deal with launching the new game first? That upgrade?”

Alan scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yes, that one.”

“Alan, you’re overworking yourself,” Lora put one hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “It’s not doing you any good, you know. We may not be together anymore but I still worry about you. And so does Kevin, even if he won’t admit it. All of this won’t disappear overnight. Tron and the others won’t let that happen.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to worry you,” Alan sighed. He saved all his progress and turned his computer off, before grabbing his briefcase from the floor. “I just want all of this to work, you know? But you’re right. Maybe taking a short break isn’t such a bad idea.”

“I’m sure Kevin won’t mind if you stay home tomorrow, considering how much overtime you’ve done this week. Or maybe you could visit Tron? I bet it’s been a while since you’ve seen him last. You’re always more relaxed after you’ve visited the Grid.”

That was true. 

Ever since he had found out about Kevin entering the game Grid for the first time, Alan visited the place himself more times than he could count. Yet, the novelty of the experience still didn’t wear off, and not only that. Knowing that Tron, his program, was there, actually there, and Alan could visit him anytime he wanted… it was indescribable. 

Lora was right, as always. Because of his work he indeed hadn’t entered the Grid for the last few weeks, and he missed talking to his program terribly. And it was true, he knew that, he always felt somewhat calmer whenever Tron was next to him. 

The next day, when Alan entered the game Grid, Tron was already there, waiting for him. Seeing a bright smile on the program’s face as he walked up to Alan still made the man feel a little bit nervous, but truly happy at the same time. 

“Greetings, Alan_1,” Tron said, never looking away from his User’s face, and Alan glanced down at the ground, still not used to having the program’s undivided attention. “It is good to see you again. I have been keeping an eye on all the upgrades and new programs, just as we discussed last time, and…”

“I know,” Alan interrupted him, putting one hand on Tron’s shoulder and watching as blue circuits lit up and changed color briefly. “You’ve been… amazing. You _are_ amazing.”

“Thank you,” Tron said, still smiling. “Is there anything I can help you with? If you would like a report on our newly created districts or...”

“No, it’s fine,” Alan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I didn’t come here for work, actually. I just… I just wanted to relax. And see you. I wanted to see you a lot.”

Tron, clearly elated by the comment, glanced at the ground, just like Alan had done earlier. Even though he should probably find it uncanny how very similar the two of them were, not only in terms of looks, Alan just found Tron’s reactions to be quite charming.

“I hope I’m not bothering you, though,” Alan added when Tron didn’t say anything for a while. “If you have something else to do I can just entertain myself with new games for a while.”

“You are never a bother, Alan_1.” Tron walked up to Alan, then took hold of his left hand and squeezed it gently. Alan didn’t even have to look at his suit to know that in place where Tron’s hand was touching his the circuits were flashing bright purple. Alan couldn’t help it, really. Having his program this close to him always made him feel awkward and very ecstatic at the same time. “I would be happy to accompany you, if you would like.”

Alan didn’t know how much time exactly he spent in the Grid, just playing games, walking around, and enjoying Tron’s company, but with every passing second he felt more and more of the work-related stress leaving his body. 

Alan was listening to another one of Tron’s assessments of the situation concerning new programs and how they adjust to Alan’s and Kevin’s new system updates, not even once looking away from Tron’s face. Only when one of the programs passing them greeted Tron did Alan realize that at some point during their trip they ended up holding hands again.

“Is everything well, Alan_1?”

When Alan looked up from their tangled fingers and saw the program observing him curiously, he exhaled, content.

“Yes, Tron. Everything is perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Round 25 of [Smallfandomfest](http://smallfandomfest.livejournal.com/) for the prompt Alan/Tron - _"Alan is always calmer when Tron is beside him."_
> 
> It's been a long time since I've written anything for this fandom, but I re-watched the first movie some time ago and... this ficlet happened. So, enjoy.


End file.
